Emberwood So if I stand in front of a speeding car

’We’ll see what he makes of demon deer when he faces the wrath of unforgiving packmates,’ Liri said.

Grezig could not help the small exhalation of breath through her nose, a tiny laugh, at that statement. She flashed a smile for all of two seconds, and then it was gone as if it had never been there in the first place. “I’ll… do what I can to teach him. I think there is something wrong with him, in his head, you know. I suppose I cannot fault him for that. Maybe he was born that way.” 

Liri told her then that if he fucked up—Grezig’s words—that Grezig wouldn’t be the only one chasing Thorleif out. “Kavik told me the same,” she replied. “You two think alike.” It was meant to be a kind of compliment, that they were fit for each other, but it came out sounding like a simple statement of fact.

It was Liri’s next words that really got Grezig thinking: ’You’ve done much for us. We won't forget, once things are settled we'll see what the future brings for this pack.’ 

What did she mean by ‘we won’t forget’? Did she mean a place in leadership—a beta rank, perhaps? Grezig did not ask, did not want to come across as greedy or impatient. She had always been one to believe that she should lead her own pack one day. She thought she would be good as an alpha. But she also knew that greed and impatience could be one’s downfall, and the downfall of the entire pack if it got too out of hand. So she simply nodded at Liri’s words and said nothing, not trusting herself with her own words at the moment. She was entirely loyal to Liri and to Kavik and did not want to plant the seeds of mistrust in either alpha. If a rank in leadership came, it would come on its own, without her suggesting it. In the end, she said only, “Thank you.”